It's a battle to find room in Dodgers crowded bullpen

Paco Rodriguez was one of the top left-handers in the NL last year, allowing just 14 of a major-league high 69 inherited runners to score. STEPHEN DUNN, GETTY IMAGES

GLENDALE, Ariz. – There is supposed to be safety in numbers. For Paco Rodriguez and Chris Withrow, though, there is danger.

The Dodgers might have assembled the deepest bullpen in baseball. They have three former All-Star closers, none of whom will be the team’s primary closer. When spring training started, they had six pitchers who have had at least 17 saves in a season. And for stretches of 2013, Rodriguez and Withrow pitched as well or better than any of them.

“You look at the arms in here – it’s incredible,” Rodriguez said of the relief corps assembled at Camelback Ranch this spring.

“However it shakes out, whichever seven guys it ends up being (on the season-opening roster) – I wouldn’t mess with them,” Withrow said.

That’s actually where it gets messy.

The Dodgers have nearly $30 million in guaranteed contracts committed to six relievers – Kenley Jansen, Brian Wilson, Chris Perez, Brandon League, Jamey Wright and J.P. Howell. In League’s case, it’s a $17 million commitment over this season and next – a bill that becomes more problematic with each ineffective outing. League did not make the travel roster to Australia.

If left-hander Paul Maholm is not needed to replace Josh Beckett in the starting rotation, a spot will have to be cleared for him in the bullpen as well.

The field did narrow by one Sunday when right-hander Javy Guerra, who was out of options, was designated for assignment. The Dodgers have 10 days to waive, trade or release their 2011 closer.

And Rule 5 right-hander Seth Rosin, who has pitched well this spring, made the travel roster and will go to Australia. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti is not fond of letting pitching assets get away without getting something in return but finding room for Rosin on the roster will not be easy. Add hard-throwing Jose Dominguez to Rodriguez and Withrow and you have 11 relievers jockeying for the limited bullpen seating.

“One thing we’ve always talked about is we want tough decisions. We want it to be a good competition,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “I know one of the things you hear from Ned and probably from all general managers is you need depth. It looks like we’re going to have that.”

Something has to give, though, and the fact that Rodriguez, Withrow and Dominguez can be demoted without going through waivers could put them on the “Albuquerque shuttle” this season – moving up and down between Triple-A and Los Angeles depending on the health and needs of the Dodgers bullpen.

“The way I look at that is as long as I do my part, I can’t control the rest,” Rodriguez said. “I could worry about it. But, at the end of the day, what difference is that going to make? I’m going home with the baby (a son born last October). When they hand me the ball, that’s when I’ll be ready to do my job and if I do it well enough, I’m going to give them a hard decision to make.”

The first player from the 2012 draft to make the majors, Rodriguez should have no reason to worry about adding to his total of 19 2/3 minor-league innings – except for a late-season fade last year that seemed to owe itself largely to a heavy workload in his first full major-league season. Even with that, he finished with the third-lowest opponent’s batting average among National League relievers (.164) and allowed just 14 of a major-league high 69 inherited runners to score.

“Paco was one of the best lefties in baseball last year, getting lefties out and really getting righties out too. Last year, without Paco we’re in trouble,” Mattingly said. “I think what we saw with Paco (late in the year) was just running out of steam. We used him a lot – not necessarily a lot of innings but a lot of appearances (76, third in the NL). It seemed like he just kind of ran out of gas towards the end of the year. So to me, he’s right back on track, there’s no reason not to be confident in what he can do.

“This is a guy who throws the ball where he wants. He’s got a number of pitches. He still has areas where he can improve. But for the most part, this guy has weapons for different guys.”

As for Rodriguez’s place in the 2014 bullpen logjam, Mattingly said, “Well, Paco’s a guy. He’s one of our guys, I think.”

When last season ended, Withrow had reason to think he would be one of the guys this year too. A key piece of a stabilized Dodgers bullpen after he was promoted in mid-June, Withrow had a 2.60 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 342/3 innings. Then the Dodgers re-signed both Wilson and Howell – a bit of a surprise – and added Perez to the bullpen mix, leaving Withrow without a seat.

“I did feel good after what I was able to do last season,” the 2007 first-round pick said. “But you’re never secure in this game and they’ve got to build the team the way they think is best. Until you have a long-term deal, you’re always fighting for a job.

“I can’t worry about it. Yeah, it’s hard to do (put it out of your mind). But ultimately when it comes down to it I can’t say what I want to do. That decision is up to the front office and I just have to be ready to do the job when I get a chance.”

Paco Rodriguez was one of the top left-handers in the NL last year, allowing just 14 of a major-league high 69 inherited runners to score. STEPHEN DUNN, GETTY IMAGES
Chris Withrow became a key piece of the Dodgers' bullpen after he was promoted, posting a 2.60 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings. ELSA, GETTY IMAGES

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